


Teamwork is the fuel

by muuchan



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 20:31:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/299763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muuchan/pseuds/muuchan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>...that allows common people to attain uncommon results.</p><p> </p><p>Blue Rose isn't going to let Barnaby Brooks Jr. take the top spot from her *or* Kotetsu! Will they ever get along? And what about *another* rival?</p><p>It's a match between the blue ring and the red ring! Self-help books vs. Partnership! Who will come out victorious?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Teamwork is the fuel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> Thanks to all the betas I roped in to working on this :)! I'll be naming each one of you at the reveal.... :d

 

 

"-- And that's it ladies and gentlemen! The battle between the King and Queen of Heroes has come to an end-- at least for tonight! The Queen's reign continues with an additional two-hundred points to ward off the former King from retaking the top title! That means Barnaby will have to rake in a grand total of 600 points to beat our current Queen of Heroes!"

" _My ice may be cold, but your crime is now put on hold!_ -"

It was a close call tonight again, had been for the past few months ever since Barnaby's return. It was nice being able to work with Wild Tiger again, but the additional baggage-- because that's what _he_ was to Karina right now -- he brought was getting a bit too much to handle. _He_ may have been the King of Heroes before, but after his retirement, Karina had certainly worked her ass off to beat Sky High for the top spot. There was _no_ way she was going to let him take that from her _now_ , and _especially not_ when it came with a certain perk:

"Great work out there tonight, Blue Rose!"

Tonight, Wild Tiger was one of the first Heroes back from the field, and leaning on the railing with one hand holding a water bottle, he waved at her. Smiled. Looked hot. Looked proud of her. Was actually looking at her. Karina felt herself go weak in the knees, felt her heart skip a beat. _This_. This was one of her reasons for keeping the top spot and there was _no way_ she was letting Barnaby take that from her.

Despite the elation that greeting brought her, Karina looked away and put on a well-practiced frown. "And you were _terrible_ out there. You could have slipped and fallen two stories down back there... What were you thinking?" She folded her hands across her chest; at the edge of her vision, she saw Kotetsu put a hand at the back of his neck and look away. In truth, Karina hadn't been too worried this time, not when -- she'd had to grudgingly accept _his_ involvement in the past few months -- Barnaby was around to watch Kotetsu's back. As much as Barnaby's closeness to Kotetsu's irritated her to no end, she had to admit, the fact that he was around like he was kept Kotetsu safe from falling to his death from ridiculous heights. Kotetsu had a tendency towards that, especially _now_ when his powers were down to a minute. If it wasn't falling from ridiculous heights, there was the getting in the thick of the situations with little else but the power suit Apollon Media provided its Heroes with. It was frustrating, especially when she had a persona to cultivate out there on the field as Blue Rose and that kept her from saving him as often as she wanted to, and because when she failed, she had to watch Barnaby and Wild Tiger act like an old married couple.

"But, I didn't fall...?" Tiger helpfully, and quite uselessly, suggested. He had that goofy smile on his face, the one that made Karina's heart melt.

She pouted, and was just about to make a half-mumbled response about making sure to be careful next time when _he_ walked up to the empty spot beside Kotetsu. Inside Karina's head, she heard a little gong go off, and the mollified feeling Kotetsu's goofy smile brought her all but evaporated. Barnaby was here, and she knew exactly what that meant.

"Congratulations on the arrest." Barnaby put on a smile, "I'll be sure to get those points back next time."

So, okay, that didn't seem too _hostile_ , but Karina just _knew_ that underneath that smile was pure and utter scheming. He was just acting like it was nothing because _Kotetsu_ was next to him, and if he even so much as seemed like he was being _hostile_ to her, they both knew Kotetsu would pry in two seconds flat. Karina would never forget how Barnaby unwittingly ruined her Valentine's plans a few months ago. She butted into their partner-time as retaliation after that and it had been war since then. Or maybe the war had officially begun when Barnaby started reading that book Fire Emblem recommended-- _after she'd left it in the locker room by accident_ \-- and then found out who it belonged to originally. Barnaby Brooks Jr. didn't actively sabotage Blue Rose’s attempts before, but Karina was damn sure he did nowadays, in his own... stealthy way.

Karina hated him. Even so, her lips spread into a smile automatically and she used a sweet tone when she responded to Barnaby, "I won't be so sure about that. If you keep having to save Tiger from falling instead of nabbing points like you just did today--"

"My _partner_ is more important than points. And besides, as his partner, it's my responsibility to keep him from being burden to _you_."

 _Burn._ For a moment, Karina wanted to reach out and pull at those stupid flips on _his_ hair. She knew better to do that though (because it'd be tantamount to admitting defeat) and instead placed a hand on her hips as she rose up to his obvious challenge. "Then keep on letting me nab your precious points, and when you feel like winning some, you could let _me_ save Tiger for a change."

"He's a bit too heavy for you."

"Not all rescues have to end in princess carries, Barnaby."

Before Karina knew it, she was glaring at Barnaby, and Barnaby was... not glaring: He had that cool expression on his face. She wanted so badly to wipe that cool expression on his face. She'd been coming close to doing it whenever she succeeded in nabbing points ahead of him, but what Karina really wanted was complete and utter victory over _his_ smug self, preferably by way of winning Kotetsu according to the 69th way.

"Oh, hey, look it's Agnes... Bunny? Blue Rose? Hello?" Suddenly, Kotetsu was waving a hand between them, and then walking between them to greet Agnes. That effectively broke the little glaring match between Karina and _the Baggage_ , though the latter looked the same as he did five minutes before. With one final glare at Barnaby, Karina followed Kotetsu.

"Barnaby, Blue Rose, Tiger--" Barnaby didn't have a secret identity, Karina was still in her costume, and Kotetsu had just put on his domino mask. "-- This is Ms. Electra Banks," Agnes motioned to the tall redhead standing beside her. Karina found herself immediately assessing this new person _just because_ (she could turn out to have a soft spot for goofballs and that's one more competition to deal with, though she was fairly sure liking goofballs was an _acquired_ taste and Barnaby was just strange): Electra was at least six-feet tall, with C-cups, and five inch heels. She looked every bit model material. Actually, come to think of it, Blue Rose recognized her: She was the new starlet from that movie series with robots, the one who was making waves and was under _her_ company to boot.

Karina's initial prognosis was that she did not like this woman much, and then found herself wondering what _He_ thought. Her resolve _not to_ lasted all of five seconds, but when she did turn to catch a very quick glimpse of Barnaby's face, she found, to no surprise, his face wearing that annoyingly 'neutral' smile. Jerkface.

'Go on, charm that lady Barnaby,' Karina thought darkly, 'and distract her from Tiger....'

"I mentioned earlier that Hero TV will be working with Titan Entertainment in a series of commercials to promote the release of Robotformers. The representative from their side is, obviously, Ms. Banks over here--"

She flashed them a charming smile and made a little cutesy wave that made Karina want to narrow her eyes at her suspiciously. "It's nice to meet you."

"And the partner she specifically requested for this venture is--"

'Barnaby,' Karina thought excitedly. It would keep Barnaby out of her hair long enough, then!

"Wild Tiger," Electra chimed just as excitedly, and the sound of her stilettos tapping against the floors grated on Blue Rose's ears as she inched close to Kotetsu.

"..... _What_?" Karina was barely able to keep from letting that shock seep into her voice. She found herself looking for Barnaby's expression again, and was, maybe, just a bit disappointed to find that cool expression present on his face again. Even as Electra began leaning on Tiger's chest.

Wait, what? Blue Rose blinked. Is this reality? "Ms. Agnes....?" she found herself half-whispering. Agnes had this self-satisfied smirk on her face as she began explaining the reasoning behind this.

"As you may know, Robotformers is a movie where the hero is, simply put, opposite the usual action heroes. So that rules you out, Barnaby--" The cool and calm expression on Barnaby's face remained constant. The Baggage didn't have any feelings, Blue Rose thought darkly. 'At least oppose this as his partner!'

"In addition, Wild Tiger has actually had quite a following ever since the Maverick episodes. Even during his temporary retirement, interest in Wild Tiger was quite notable. You are aware we released Blu-rays and DVDs of the Maverick incident early on in the year?"

Karina did remember, actually, and it had sold quite well. She nodded.

"A part of that was a direct result of the renewed interest on Wild Tiger."

"He was really amazing," Electra sighed. "I used to be a fan of Barnaby, but Wild Tiger is really more the ordinary kind of person you'd go out with. He's a bit of flake most of the time, but it's because he doesn't want people to think of him so much, and when it really matters, he really delivers! It's wonderful!"

And then Electra was hugging Kotetsu, who just laughed nervously and rubbed at the back of his neck. Actually, no, it wasn't just that: If you asked Blue Rose, he looked like he was enjoying having those C-cups pressed against his chest. "Er, uh, thanks...?" Kotetsu was saying.

She shot Barnaby a glare, and -- even if Karina _hated him_ \-- she inwardly cheered when he finally made his move. Unfortunately, that didn't include prying Electra off of Tiger. He did step closer to Kotetsu and Electra, though, still with that irritatingly unfazed smile. Blue Rose hoped he had something scheming up in his sleeve for this.

"It won't just be Ms. Banks and Tiger for the entirety of the project, will it?" he asked neutrally.

Karina felt like clocking him for that: so his hostility was reserved towards her?

"No, of course not. Hero TV will be taking advantage of this as a way to promote the other Heroes as well. Ms. Banks and Wild Tiger will be the headliners for a change, however."

"I see," Barnaby's smile turned from irritating neutral, to irritatingly _charming_. Blue Rose hated herself for recognizing that, too, but she'd come to be very familiar with Barnaby's arsenal in the times she'd gone against him in the past few months. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Banks--" And by magic, Electra stepped away from Kotetsu then, even though she was still five inches too close from him. "I'll be leaving for now. I look forward to working with you in the coming weeks."

Then Barnaby was walking away -- 'Wait, coward!' Blue Rose thought inwardly -- and Blue Rose almost chased after him to make him get rid of that woman.

"Hey, wait, Bunny--" Kotetsu followed him, and then Blue Rose wasn't angry that Barnaby was walking away from the problem but that he'd somehow solved it. "Hey, Agnes, are we free to go now?"

Electra looked a bit crestfallen when her C-cups failed to captivate Kotetsu, but Blue Rose wasn't the least bit surprised. If Kotetsu didn't bat an eye at her stripperific outfits, what chance did _she_ have? And _she'd_ worked with Kotetsu all these months!

"Of course. Just make sure not to be late at tomorrow's promotional photo-shoot with Ms. Banks. You _know_ what happens when you show up late, don't you?"

"Yes ma'am..."

Agnes introduced Electra Banks to her then, and then to Dragon Kid and Origami Cyclone when they arrived later on, to Sky High and to Wild Bison and Fire Emblem-- Truthfully, Blue Rose, by that point, hadn't been paying attention. What she wanted to know was how best she could yell at Barnaby for not trying hard enough to get the hag away from Kotetsu...

 

\---

 

The next few days were _challenging_ , to say the least. First there was the photo-shoot between Electra Banks and Wild Tiger which had the latter in tattered clothes that exposed his chest while the former clung to him helplessly. And then there was the interview between Tiger & Barnaby _and_ Electra Banks in which the starlet giddily declared how she'd _gladly_ choose Tiger over Barnaby (and how it was better that way too, since she wouldn't have any problem _monopolizing_ Tiger to herself or have to fight against legions of fans for him). Neither Kotetsu nor Barnaby had made a move to discount _that_ , a fact that had Blue Rose _fuming_ when she watched the live telecast with Fire Emblem that night. She considered Barnaby her rival for Kotetsu's affections, but he sure was doing so very little in the way of keeping that woman from laying her claim to Kotetsu on live television!

The cherry on top of it all was her, Blue Rose, being forced to team up with Barnaby for the next week or so. So, in short, all that anger towards Barnaby for being such a failure of a partner (in the way of keeping that hussy away from Kotetsu)? Well, there was no way she could let it simmer now when she had to literally work with the guy. And she was sure as heck not helping _him_ get her points. Or help him get points at all. Partnership? This was temporary torture.

 _"And it looks like Blue Rose has made it! Will she be the one making the arrest tonight?"_

It was a run-off-the-mill robbery tonight and Blue Rose, propelled by icicles from her hands, chased after the remaining robbers as they ran along the bridge. She was so close too, and was about to leap off to the walkways and seal off the robbers' escape routes when _he_ appeared, leaping towards them and obviously utilizing his Hundred Power.

" _Ah! But here comes the former King of Heroes! It looks like this'll be a showdown between the Queen and King again! Who will emerge victorious? It's certainly not the robbers this time, if the presence of these two top Heroes -- who are teaming up in the absence of Wild Tiger, by the way-- are any indication!_ "

"Oh no, you don't!" Blue Rose muttered under her breath as she made a landing on the walkway and focused on making a little ice barrier to impend Barnaby's advance.

 _"Wait, what's this? Blue Rose has created an ice wall to block Barnaby's advance! It looks like, partners or no, there's no way the Queen of Heroes will be letting the King take back her title! Knowing Blue Rose, the Ice Queen that will keep you holding out til' the last minute, this is surprising, but not too much!"_

Not bothering to look back then, she continued on foot, running after the robbers (who were also on foot). That should be enough--

 _"But no ice barrier can keep the former King of Heroes from his points! Kicking his way to freedom, Barnaby is back on the prowl! Watch out, Blue Rose!"_

\--or not. Blue Rose quickly spun on her heels and using her focus guns, froze the roads in front of Barnaby, only for the latter to leapt forward and land in the way of the robbers.

Before Barnaby could advance towards the robbers, however, Blue Rose was firing at her guns again, making more barriers between the robbers and Barnaby while kicked at them to break them completely.

 _"And the battle between the current Queen of Heroes and King of Heroes seems to have reached its boiling point now! Momentarily forgetting about the robbers, it looks like Blue Rose has settled for actively blocking Barnaby's bid for the arrest? Ladies and gentlemen, this has now become a -literal- battle between the Queen and King of Heroes. Who will prevail? And more importantly, who will go on to actually catch the robbers?!" _

"Buzz off, Barnaby! They're mine!" Blue Rose yelled, giving one last burst from her focus guns before running towards the robbers, who had taken to running back to the Sternbild mainland, with their path to the outside of the city blocked. Knowing she wouldn't be able to catch them fast enough to cut off their path on foot, she leapt off the bridge again, letting icicles prop her up from the sea and eventually propel her again after the robbers.

Some five seconds and a burst of blue light later, the ice wall Blue Rose had made to impede Barnaby was completely destroyed, and Barnaby, a trail of red behind him, was speeding towards the robbers.

With her own burst of blue light, Blue Rose increased her speed as well, leaving frozen sea water behind her.

"That was low, coming from you," Blue Rose heard Barnaby say in that annoyingly calm voice from her earpiece. "But I'll be making the arrest tonight, anyway."

"There's no way I'd let you--"

She wasn't able to finish though, not when Mario's commentary filtering from her earpiece and marking the unpleasant end to their little competition: _"And Dragon Kid has made the arrest-- Tough luck for the Queen and King of Heroes! Looks like their bickering--"_

"Bickering?!" Blue Rose said out loud as she jumped back onto the bridge, just in time to see Dragon Kid make her signature capture pose. Barnaby came to a stop beside her.

 _"--cost them the points this time! Better luck next time! Til' next time, everyone!"_

"Your little stunt cost us the arrest," Barnaby said plainly after that, crossing his arms across his chest. They were waiting for the Apollon Media van to pick them up since it was closest to the scene.

"Excuse me, if you hadn't left me behind when we were supposed to be partnering up in the first place, I wouldn't have thought about returning the favor."

Barnaby, who had his faceplate slide upwards so Blue Rose could see what terrible expression he was wearing, smiled saccharinely at her. "I was under the impression you were perfectly capable of catching up on your own. Isn't that what you told Agnes and Kotetsu earlier?"

"And you--" Blue Rose walked up to him, but she ended up tilting her head upwards. Even with heels on, Barnaby was a full head taller than her normally, and that power suit added a good few inches to his height. "--said you'd take care of me like you'd take care of Tiger!"

"That was a lie," Barnaby said simply, still smiling.

Blue Rose glared at Barnaby, or more accurately, _glared harder_. "You're rotten. "

"I'm not the one reading self-help books on how to _seduce_ people."

"Well, I'm not the one hiding under an innocent smile and looking forward to every time I get to hold Kotetsu in my arms. It's disgusting! You're just lucky Tiger is too nice to pick up on your hidden perversions."

"And your self-help books aren't perverted?"

"And you'd know because you _read_ it too?"

"For research purposes."

"Research purposes!" Blue Rose repeated, voice heavily laced with sarcasm. Barnaby had a look of nonchalance when he said that, but his response to Blue Rose after that had him _smirking_.

"It's best to learn your rivals' weapons. It's a basic rule for defence."

Barnaby: a love rival. Blue Rose's eyes narrowed all the more. The nerve of _that guy_.

"You, a rival? You're just his partner."

The smile on Barnaby's face remained, but then he had this "innocent" expression on his face suddenly. "Aren't we rivals for the top position? Or did you mean something else?"

'Rivals for Tiger!' Something yelled at the back of Blue Rose's mind, but the words refused to roll off her mouth. There was _no_ way she was going to say that out loud, even to win over someone as underhanded, scheming, rotten, and jerk-faced as this guy. Instead, (and it _wasn't_ her figurative throwing of the towel) she turned on her heels and folded her arms across her chest.

"Hmph."

One point to Barnaby for that, Blue Rose had to admit.

Before a second round of bickering could start, the Apollon Media van thankfully came to pick them both up. Unfortunately, and to their collective (or at least Blue Rose imagined Barnaby was equally upset) displeasure, Electra was there to welcome them back, standing a bit too close for comfort to a clueless Kotetsu. She was in a _micro-_ skirt that exposed her very long and slender legs. Those legs, too, looked every bit about to clip Kotetsu between them. Blue Rose hoped they would just snap under the pressure that was her C-cup breasts. She, too, was sure those had to be partially, if not completely, _fake_.

"Hey, _Bunny_ , Blue Rose!" Electra waved at them and seemed to actually want them to get closer.

If Barnaby was the least bit annoyed by Electra randomly picking up his nickname (and Blue Rose was sure Kotetsu couldn't have encouraged _that_ , as scatter-brained Kotetsu could be), he didn't show. Instead, he actually seemed a-okay about this... development... as he walked closer to them.

"Hello, is there something you needed, Ms. Banks?"

Against her own wishes, Blue Rose found herself following after Barnaby's move. "Hello," she greeted in a tone that was certainly colder than the one Barnaby used.

"Oh, there's nothing I particularly _need_ from the two of you. Tiger?" She tugged suggestively at Kotetsu's necktie.

"Er, uh, Hi Bunny, Blue Rose..." was all that came out of Kotetsu. In the next few moments that followed, he became a mass of "Uh, er, say--" Finally, Electra cut him off, elbowing him visibly.

"What Tiger means to say is that he's glad to see you guys back. _So_ you won't have to find out that he's cancelling on your buddy night together, _Bunny_ , to go out on a date with _me_ later on. Isn't that right, Tiger?"

Kotetsu opened his mouth, then closed it. Barnaby stayed still even though Blue Rose was sure he must be boiling from that. "I wouldn't say it like that, but uh... uh, I promised to show her around Fortress Tower tonight....."

"That's right!" Without warning, Electra looped her arms around Kotetsu's and began squealing like a fourteen-year old. "I hear the view from the place is _amazing_ at night! And I'd always wanted to eat there with _my Hero_ —right, Tiger?"

Kotetsu was _frowning_ , but it looked like the frown of confusion rather than a frown of actual displeasure. "Well, that all depends on Bunny... Bunny, will you be okay moving our buddy night to another day?"

"Uh-uh, Tiger, that wasn't what you said _earlier_." Electra began tugging at Kotetsu's arms and her voice distinctly reminded Blue Rose of a whining nine year old. Wait- At that moment, she snuck a peek of Barnaby: Barnaby looked hugely unaffected by this, though his eyes were unreadable under the sharp gleam of his glasses. " _You_ said Bunny should spend more time away from you from time to time and tonight was the perfect time for _us_ to get to know each other."

"That's ri-- huh? I said that?"

"Anyway! We really have to be going. See you, Bunny and Blue Rose~ Tiger and Electra, over and out~!"

Electra practically dragged Kotetsu out the Training room then, with Kotetsu following like a hopeless puppy. Blue Rose gaped, or at least did so until the sliding doors were completely closed behind Kotetsu and his wilful and obviously ill-fitted new partner.

"The nerve of _that_ woman," Karina fumed, though inwardly, she was remembering way #9 from "How to Seduce a Single Father." She turned sharply at Barnaby, who stood very, very still. Where did all those snarky comebacks he'd used earlier go? "Hey, are _you_ just gonna stand there? That woman just-- just -- the nerve of her!"

She marched up to him, and planted her hands on her hips. "Barnaby Brooks Jr.!"

That seemed to snap Barnaby out of the little trance that scene put him through. He pushed his glasses upwards and then waved a hand in dismissal at Blue Rose. "He wanted to go with her. Let him be," he said before turning towards the locker rooms.

That was underwhelming.

"Is that all you have to say?" Blue Rose paused and looked around consciously: The other heroes hadn't returned yet, and that meant she could lay it all out on Barnaby without worrying about the other Heroes' comments. "You're going to let that woman walk away with Tiger when you wouldn't even let me give him my Valentine's chocolates."

"This and that are two different matters. And it's probably part of a Hero TV promotion."

Blue Rose pursed her lips at that: Barnaby had a point. He always did tend to have a point. Electra had done nothing but gush about Wild Tiger ever since they met, after all. "It probably is like that _now_ , but that woman's taking advantage of Tiger. And it's probably a Hero TV thing but... this is Tiger we're talking about!"

"Kotetsu can take care of himself. I'm leaving for the night--"

"Oh, Handsome and Blue Rose~!" Fire Emblem entered at that moment with the rest of the other Heroes: Origami Cyclone, Dragon Kid, and Rock Bison. Like Karina (and Barnaby, who would count except he didn't exactly _have_ a secret identity), the other Heroes were still in their respective costumes. "You would not believe what we just saw outside! Or-" Nathan took that moment to place a hand on his cheek, and then he continued in a slightly lower tone. "Or did you already see?"

"Fire Emblem...?" Barnaby began to head towards the exit. "Hey, wait--"

"I guess Handsome's already _seen_... or were you able to catch that Electra with Tiger here?"

"They _were_ here..."

"Were they smooching here too?" Dragon Kid interrupted in a very matter-of-fact tone.

Karina was just about to refute that when, well, it finally sunk in. Pao Lin's words. She did a double take. "They were-- _what?_ Kissing?"

"Yes... At least--" Origami Cyclone put in. "I didn't think it was them at first but..."

"We made use of Origami's superb ninja skills here and had him sneak up towards them!" Fire Emblem exclaimed proudly.

"Origami says Mr. Tiger's beard was definitely there," Dragon Kid finished.

" _Whaaaat_?"

"Did they say where they were going, by chance, Blue Rose? It looked like they were going on a _date_ and this was _warm-up_."

"Kotetsu looked completely overwhelmed," Wild Bison's comment didn't fit the flow of conversation, but it certainly painted a better picture of the whole thing in Karina's head. Kotetsu pushed against the wall, squirming, while Electra--

"That's it! I'm coming!"

"So you _do_ know where they're going! Are you going to share it with us?"

"It's Kotetsu, it's probably Fortress Tower. That's where that Mr. Legend statue is, isn't it?"

"...they listed that as the most romantic place to bring your date last year. They're also not adverse to cosplaying pairs..."

"Are you sure that's where they're going...? Wasn't Fire Emblem saying they should get a room--"

"Dragon Kid! That's not something you should say with Handsome and Blue Rose around!"

"Barnaby just left! What's this about them getting a roo-"

"I'm still here," Barnaby's calm, near-monotonous voice cut through their little mayhem then, and sure enough the blond Hero was standing right at the exit, one foot firmly planted at the path of the sliding door. In the next few moments of silence, he stepped away from the door and walked calmly towards them. His expression was widely unreadable, but Blue Rose already had an idea what was going through that pretty head of his.

"Kotetsu never told me about this," he said then, voice frighteningly even, and then Blue Rose suddenly realized his disregard earlier was a direct result of his thinking if there was _anything_ , anything at all happening between Electra and his partner, he would know.

There was a moment’s pause then, and then he broke into a smile that was oddly more disconcerting than the dark and mostly empty expression he was wearing earlier.

"As his partner, I'd like to hear more about this...."

 

\---

 

Even without Kotetsu telling them where they were having their "date", Wild Bison was correct in his earlier statement that if it's Kotetsu, he'll probably bring her somewhere with a pretty big Hero monument. That meant Fortress Tower then, with its larger-than-life-size Legend statue.

Both Barnaby and Karina had little problem spotting Wild Tiger and Electra Banks at the observation deck restaurant as soon as they got there. Barnaby was sporting a cap and a huge sunglasses on top of his prescription ones (Karina's idea: "I'm not going to get my face plastered on the tabloids because I was seen with _you_."), while Karina went with her normal civilian clothes. Together, they took a table that was a safe distance away from and behind the couple, with Barnaby facing them and Karina with her back against them.

While Barnaby's disguise was Karina's idea, the whole thing was admittedly Barnaby's: At least, the part where only he and Karina should be there.

"I suppose it can't be helped... we should leave them alone in the meantime," Barnaby had said back at the Hero TV headquarters after the other Heroes had made a more articulate account of what it was exactly that they saw happen between Kotetsu and Electra. "If it's really like that... Kotetsu will tell us eventually."

Just like that, Barnaby had Nathan on his side, and the idea of _stalking_ Kotetsu on his date was summarily dropped. Or at least, Karina thought that. Shortly after that, Barnaby took her aside and told her to come with him. It had taken her by surprise, naturally, and Karina was initially reluctant to ride alone with him in his car (the thought of even seeming like a couple gave her goose-bumps), but in the end Barnaby brought up Kotetsu's _well-being_ and... well....

That was how they got here.

"So, what's going on?" Karina leaned forward as she whispered. Barnaby didn't respond immediately and Karina lightly thumped on the table. " _Barnaby_..."

"I can't see clearly with these sunglasses on," was the response finally, and Karina rolled her eyes. She reached out then to remove the sunglasses (which were hers originally) and tug Barnaby's (again, hers) hat downwards.

"There! Can you see them now?"

"I'd appreciate it if you weren't so impatient. You're not very good at _sneaking_ , are you?"

Karina crossed her arms across her chest. "And you're not very nice when you're with a partner that _isn't_ Kotetsu."

"Touché."

"Well? Anything."

A pause from Barnaby, and then a frown, and a smile. "She's ordering for them."

"Huh, really? And how do you know that?" Karina propped her head up on her hands.

"I can read lips."

"You can?"

"They teach it in Hero Academy." Before Karina could respond, he smirked. "Oh, wait, you're enrolled in a normal school."

 _Jerkface_. Karina had been thinking _maybe_ he couldn't be that bad by the way he remembered her and took her out here to watch for whatever Kotetsu was up to, but clearly she was wrong. She was wearing heels today, nothing like the heels she wore for her Blue Rose costume, but she made good use of that and stomped on Barnaby's foot.

"Oops, my foot slipped."

"It's okay, it didn't hurt at all." More smirking.

Karina almost shot up from her seat to yell at Barnaby. Barnaby signalled for her to stop though, and his voice was notably serious. "Wait...Someone's approaching them."

"Someone...." Karina didn't like that tone and immediately knew something must be up. Normally, she didn't like the idea of sitting next to Barnaby, but she made an exception for this and quickly got up her seat to sit beside him. Barnaby's seat had a better view of Wild Tiger and Electra's table.

Sure enough, a man was there beside them. He didn't look particularly remarkable: His clothes looked well-to-do, but not particularly so, and his features were the type that you couldn't really pick out from the crowd. Still, something nagged at the back of Karina's mind, and from the silence and serious expression on Barnaby's face, she was sure Barnaby shared the same thought.

"He's Electra Bank's ex-boyfriend," Barnaby said finally, and Karina realized he'd been trying to decipher their conversation from their lip movement. Blue Rose had to admit, that lip-reading was really useful, but she wasn't about to compliment _him_.

And while Barnaby was occupied with that, Karina focused on the other things, namely-- "Barnaby, he's waving his hands--"

"It's a pretty heated argument, that's understandable-- Kotetsu's trying to reason with him now."

"No, it's not just his hands, it's--" At that moment, Karina realized what she was looking at: something dark, black, rectangular, and a red light-- "It's a bomb!"

Barnaby turned to her sharply, and then back at the man. Karina thought then that his first move would be to activate his Hundred Power to stop that man, but before they could get to that, a loud explosion shook the whole observational deck, momentarily preventing them from taking any course of action. The alarms and sprinklers went off almost simultaneously, and dark grey smoke began covering the whole place. All around them, the terrified screams of the restaurant patrons mingled with the blearing alarms.

"Kotetsu!"

Karina was already up on her feet then. "Tiger will be alright. We have to get the people to safety first, we don't know--"

Another explosion rocked the observational deck, this coming from the opposite side it seemed. "How many of these did that person plant?! Is he _crazy_?!"

"He's desperate," Barnaby said finally, and then handed Karina back her hat. "Thanks, looks like I won't be needing this."

"It's a good thing you _remembered_ before going off." Karina took it back and put it on her head. "You have to tell the headquarters..."

"Already on it. We'll have to get the people to safety--"

"I'll look for the emergency exits and tell you if they're good to go."

Barnaby nodded at her once before disappearing into the cloud of smoke. Karina, meanwhile, headed for where she thought the emergency stairwells would be.

When she got to one of them, she found that not only was it blocked by people, it was also blocked by _debris_. She didn't know if this was the state with the other emergency exits too, but at the very least, this seemed workable. With all the water from the sprinklers, she could get these out of the way!

She was in her civilian clothes though, so first things first: She wore the sunglasses she'd lent to Barnaby earlier, and adjusted her hat so that it hid her blond hair. Not that people would be able to _see_ her in this smoke, but it didn't hurt to be sure, right?

Using her Blue Rose voice then, Karina commanded the people, "Move aside, I'll break the debris with my ice."

"That voice- it's Blue Rose!" she heard one of the people say, and watched as the people moved aside from the blocked exit like instructed. That's when she activated her powers. Striking a pose, and using the water still being dispersed by the sprinklers overhead, Karina made a sturdy pillar, one that stretched from her hands and then grew at breakneck speed, hurtling towards the debris and pounding at it. It took more than one burst of power from her, but soon she had the exit cleared and, fortunately, it didn't look like the actual stairwell was damaged. Someone, a guard, began motioning for the people to continue downwards then, and Karina took that moment to slip away before anyone could scrutinize her.

She messaged Barnaby over her PDA.

"The exit--" Karina paused to look around for any landmarks. "--the southern ones are working fine."

"The northern exit is completely destroyed," Barnaby answered back promptly.

"Send them over to this side, then!"

"I already instructed the guards here to do just that-- I'm looking for Kotetsu--"

  
"You haven't seen him?!"

"Nothing so far. When you find him--"

"I'll let you know."

No response from Barnaby; Karina took that as an end of the conversation. Not quite for Barnaby, however, and her PDA began to sound again.

"Thank you. I'll let you know when I find him too." Then the connection was closed.

After that, Karina went around looking for people to save, and Kotetsu. She found a mother and her young daughter not two steps away from where she'd been; the mother had been trapped under a fallen beam and her daughter was crying right beside her. Thankfully, it looked like if Karina removed the beam, she'd be able to walk away. She did just that with her NEXT powers.

"The exit's over there, just keep going forward," Karina instructed them before turning away and continuing her search.

"Tiger! Tiger!" she called out repeatedly.

The observation deck wasn't that big, but the smoke and debris made it difficult to navigate. She heard Kotetsu before she saw him.

"We can talk about this. It doesn't have to end this way," He was saying, and when Karina strained to hear, she heard Electra, or _someone_ crying uncontrollably.

"Stay back! You wouldn't understand what it's like to be _me_! Stupid ol' nobody, not getting any respect from the people around me."

"Actually, er, I'd know how that is--"

"Shut up! What do you know! You're a _Hero_! And I'm just what-- a hard-working salaryman not worth the time of day...! I did my best-- did everything for this bitch, but still she dumped me--! Dumped _me_!"

"I don't love you!" Electra screamed.

"Shut up! Shut up!"

"Hey, don't use violence on the girl."

"You'd be concerned since you're _screwing_ her now!"

"You'd be wrong about that... Now come on, you can talk about this without waving that bomb around... just come closer, stay away from the edge-- it's a really looong way down."

"I don't care! I'm gonna die with this bitch! If I can't have her, nobody can!"

"Nobody's gonna die on my watch!"

"Watch me!"

By then, Karina was running towards the sound of Kotetsu's voice. When she reached them, she was just in time to see the disgruntled ex-boyfriend wave around what looked like a small parcel box. He was holding onto Electra in what looked like a choke hold.

"We'll be together in death!" the ex-boyfriend exclaimed before pressing something on the parcel. Time seemed to slow into a crawl after that.

Bright blue light enveloped Kotetsu as he activated his Hundred Power, and before Karina knew it, he had grabbed hold of both the ex-boyfriend and Electra. That wasn't the end of it, however, and before Karina could register what was going on, another explosion rocked the place. She'd closed her eyes tightly at that, on instinct, and when she opened her eyes, she realized a part of the deck was now completely gone. Wild Tiger was no where to be seen...

"Tiger?!" She ran forward, but ran backwards again when the floor underneath her shook. The place was coming down! "Tiger!"

Without thinking, she reached for Barnaby over the PDA. "I found Tiger-- or I did, but he's missing now-- There was an explosion and I lost sight of him!"

"I'll be there," was the curt response and Karina continued calling out for Tiger. "Tiger!"

"Over here, catch!" When Karina turned to the sound of Kotetsu's voice, what she saw instead was the sight of Electra and her ex-boyfriend being thrown towards her. On instinct, she called upon her powers to catch the two with hand-shaped palms.

"Tiger! ...Where are you?!" Karina continued towards the direction Electra and the ex where thrown from, and eventually saw Kotetsu, NEXT powers run out if the lack of blue aura was any indication, holding onto a protruding piece of metal with his bare hands. She tried to get closer to him then, but the ground was too unstable for her to go further.

"Hold on, I'll think of some way to get you to safety!" Karina looked around frantically.

"Is it just you...?"

"Barnaby's here too..."

"Heh, guess you did follow..."

The ground trembled. Karina could practically hear his heart drumming in her ears then.

"Get the other people to safety, I can-- I can pull myself up."

"Are you _crazy_? You're out of time! Just hold on! I'll save you!" But what _could_ she do? "Or wait-- "

Karina connected to Barnaby over the PDA again. "Barnaby! Get here _now_! Where are you?!"

The ground trembled again and, to Karina's horror, the piece of metal Kotetsu had been holding onto began to bend downwards. Okay, she thought to herself, Barnaby wasn't around but _she_ was there, and she was a Hero just like him. She could save Kotetsu, she knew she could! And there were-- she looked around and sure enough, the sprinklers were still at it -- plenty of water for her to turn into ice. If she could just reach for Kotetsu then--

Too late. The ground connected to the metal piece Kotetsu had been holding onto collapsed completely.

"Tiger!"

Without thinking then, she launched herself, propelled by her ice, towards Kotetsu with outstretched arms. It was a close call, but _somehow_ , she was able to reach him before he fell too far. When they came to a stop, they were settled on a column of ice shaped like a hand, and Kotetsu was on her hands. It was the closest there was to a princess carry from her.

"Looks like you just saved me," Kotetsu commented, grinning. Karina blushed, and then looked away.

"Well, I... it wasn't like I _really_ wanted to save you. You were just close by..."

"Thanks, anyway, Blue Rose." Kotetsu rubbed the back of his neck. "So, uh, how do we get back up?"

"Wait a sec, I'll use my--" _crack_. Karina stopped then: that wasn't a good sound.

"Hey, hey, that was a crack wasn't it..."

"Y-yes...."

 _Crack._ That was followed with more cracks then. In response, Karina looked up, only to find the column jutting out from the observational deck collapsing. The ice column she'd created was strong enough to support _her_ , but not Kotetsu too, and certainly not for a prolonged period of time.

"It- It can't carry us both..." Karina mumbled.

"That looks like it..."

There was one final _crack_ , a large one that completely broke the ice column, and then Karina and Kotetsu were falling.

 _Great_ , Karina thought then as she tried to create ice from nothing but the moisture in the atmosphere. She was falling far too fast to create anything though, and she knew even if she did make something, it might not be enough.

 _'Papa, Mama, I'm sorry,'_ she thought grimly before closing her eyes. Hero-ing was, by no means, a safe occupation, but to die like this....

"Kotetsu! Blue Rose!"

It was Barnaby's voice: The last thing she was going to hear in this short lifetime wasn't Kotetsu's voice but Barnaby's. If she wasn't falling to her death, she'd have thought that was absolutely laughable.

She _hated_ him.

 

\---

 

 _"Oh no! The ice supporting Blue Rose and Wild Tiger just cracked! Who can save our Heroes now? Will Sky High make it on time? ........... **Wait!** That burst of light! It looks like we've left one Hero unaccounted for! It's none other than the former King of Heroes come to save his partner and the Queen of Heroes! Will he make it on time-- or will Wild Tiger and Blue Rose crash to their deaths...?!_

 _ **He made it!!!!!!** Ladies and gentlemen, Barnaby was able to catch Wild Tiger and Blue Rose and land safely!" _

"So, it looks like you really were capable of princess-carrying Kotetsu," Barnaby said simply as the replay began panning out to the cheering crowd.

Karina, who was standing beside him with her arms crossed, frowned. She resisted the urge to turn and glare at Barnaby. She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of _that_ , instead she tilted her head upwards and got ready for a verbal assault. "Yeah, it does look like it. I seem to remember someone saying he was a bit too heavy for me. Looks like you're not the only one _capable_ of doing that now."

"It might be nice to let you do that from time to time, especially when it means free points."

" _And that's a cool two-hundred points for Barnaby for saving two Heroes! That brings him closer to the top."_

"I'm never letting you get any more _'free points'_." Karina shot Barnaby a glare then, and as expected, the blond Hero was doing that annoying smile. She would have stormed out, if it weren't for Agnes Joubert and Kotetsu entering the Training Room.

"Bonjour, Heroes!" Agnes greeted, and she looked very happy. That episode must have gotten good ratings then. "I was going to speak with you about your performance _earlier_ at the robbery, but I'm willing to let that pass now. _This_ \--" Agnes gestured towards the screen, "--more than makes up for it! Now we have an added storyline about the King and Queen of Heroes reconciling as the King of Heroes rescues the Queen of Heroes!"

"I was there too..." Kotetsu mumbled, but Agnes ignored him completely.

"Anyway, I've booked an interview for the three of you _tomorrow_. Including you, Tiger--" Kotetsu looked like a puppy given attention suddenly. Karina found it a little cute. "--they'll want to find out what you were doing there and I want you to provide _good_ information."

"Yes ma'am!" Kotetsu made a little salute. It was then that Karina noticed his bandaged hand.

"I'll brief you on the details on _what_ you should be saying tomorrow. Until then, that's a job well done. Good night, Heroes."

Agnes left the three of them alone after that, and Kotetsu looked like he was about to say something.

"About that..."

"Why were you out on a date with Electra Banks?" Barnaby cut to the chase before _Karina_ could. There was a serious look on Barnaby's face, one that Karina felt compelled to add to by placing her hands on her hips and frowning at Kotetsu.

"Hey, hey, lemme finish at least!" Kotetsu waved his hands. "I was gonna get to it!"

"And you have to explain that kiss," Karina added, and found herself somehow looking up at Barnaby who, _somehow_ met her gaze in agreement. It was a bit creepy, but at the same time, _not_.

"That kiss-- _oh_ ," Kotetsu shifted his weight from one foot to another and rubbed at the back of his neck consciously. "Uh, you saw that?"

"No, but Fire Emblem, Origami Cyclone--"

" _Dragon Kid_ , and Rock Bison did."

Karina found herself unconsciously meeting gazes with Barnaby again after that. Short of saying things in unison, they had _somehow_ finished each other's sentences.

"Well-- okay. I'll start with the top. First of all, it wasn't a date-- I mean. Not like _that_! Agnes said I _should_ for the sake of, you know, the whole thing. Since Electra's been saying in every single interview she's had how much she wants to go out on a date with me..."

Barnaby was nodding at that. "I'm aware of that part, at least."

"You are? Well, then that's my reason for going out on a date with her-- sorry for having to cancel on our buddy night, Bunny. I mean, before I knew it, she was kinda putting words in my mouth..."

"Okay, okay, I get that part," Karina cut him and then walked closer, "Then what about that kiss? You were _kissing her_!"

Kotetsu stepped backwards and then yelped at Barnaby. "Bunny!"

"I'm not helping you on this one."

"Bunny... Blue Rose..."

"Spill!" Karina demanded.

"Okay, okay! I was... it was a favour. Something like that. I swear, it was supposed to be a peck on the cheek! Just a peck!" Kotetsu pointed at his cheek repeatedly. "But…you know... and I couldn't stop her... or push her away because if I do that they'd probably fine me and Agnes would have probably yelled my ear off..."

"Ah, so? That was it?"

"Yes! Believe me, Bunny! Blue Rose! I wasn't, you know, taking advantage of her or anything!"

For the third time that day, Karina and Barnaby's eyes met, as if questioning each other's belief in Kotetsu's words. This time, they found that they didn't mind it, actually, and they seemed to be getting the best results out of Kotetsu by doing this.

When their gazes broke away, it seemed to Karina that they had come to the same conclusion: If anything, _that woman_ had probably been taking advantage of Kotetsu. They weren't going to let Kotetsu off easily though.

"That's a bit difficult to believe, coming from you," Karina muttered, though this time she was just messing with Kotetsu. She caught Barnaby doing that hidden-smile thing beside her.

"I agree," Barnaby deadpanned. "You're an old man, after all."

Kotetsu clapped his hands together. "I'm telling the truth! Promise!"

There was a moment of silence after that, as Barnaby and Karina both pretended to be seriously contemplating Kotetsu's sincerity. Finally, it was Barnaby who broke the silence.

"All right, I believe you, Kotetsu."

Kotetsu turned to Karina, and the Ice Princess shrugged.

"I believe you too."

"Yes!" Kotetsu exclaimed, and then his phone rang. When he checked the caller ID, his face turned pale. "Uh oh, it's Kaede-chan...." He made a little apologetic gesture for Barnaby and Karina. "Sorry, I'll uh... I'll just step outside for now and take this call--" Then he was making a beeline towards the lobby. Just as the sliding door closed behind him, Karina heard him answer his phone. "Ah! Kaede-chan~ Papa just finished--"

"He's going to get his ear yelled off by his daughter," Karina noted as soon as Kotetsu was gone.

"It's his fault in the first place, getting into trouble like that."

There was a beat of silence.

"About earlier... Listen, I... it's not like it's not like I _want_ to be saved by you but... " Karina, arms folded across her chest and head turned to the side, mumbled: "Thank you."

"You saved _my partner_. That makes us even."

There was an insult waiting at tip of Karina's tongue, something of a jab at the way Barnaby said 'my partner', but she held back. "A-ah. I'll remember that so don't go calling any favours on me and using _this_ as your reason."

"I was going to say the same."

"Good! I'm glad we're--" Karina spun on her heels then to extend a hand towards Barnaby. "--in agreement."

Barnaby took it wordlessly.

"We are."

Another beat of silence as Karina broke the little handshake between them. "Listen."

"Hm?"

"And I'm only going to say this once: That Electra person... I'd _never_ let someone like her get close to Kotetsu, and don't _you_ ever let anyone like her close to him either. I'm only saying this because _you're_ his partner and you're with him more than I am."

Barnaby smiled at that, or smirked. It was that annoying smirk, but somehow, Karina felt that, for once, it wasn't directed at her. It wasn't as _annoying_ to her now, at least.

"Naturally. I'll make sure they won't take advantage of Kotetsu like that."

"Good. Well, I- I'm going now." Karina began stomping towards the exit.

"Blue Rose," Barnaby called out from behind her just as the sliding door opened for her. Karina turned around.

"If Kotetsu chooses someone like you, I won't interfere." He smirked and casually pushed his glasses upwards. "Not so hard, anyway."

Karina blushed furiously at that statement, and was caught between being annoyed and flattered at the same time. She stuck her tongue out at Barnaby and then spun back to the direction of the exit. "Good night!"

On her way home that night, she thought that _maybe_ , Barnaby wasn't really all that bad.

\---

 

  


\---

 

 **extras:**

  


\---

 

Sky High was in the same room that night, but somehow, they didn't notice him. Now that Barnaby was back, he'd slipped into number three in the rankings-- did that mean he was becoming disregarded again?

"Hey, Bunny! Sorry for making you wait- oh, huh, Blue Rose left?" When the sliding doors sounded again, it was Kotetsu who re-entered the room.

"With how long you took, you're surprised?"

"Yeah, yeah... well, Kaede gave me an earful about not being careful and forgetting that I had a daughter to look out for... I couldn't really tell her to cut it..."

"Hmph, whatever, Kotetsu. I'm going."

"Wait, you waited for me, does that mean-- hey, Bunny! D'you wanna go and have a drink?"

"No thanks, I have to be up early tomorrow."

"Boo-- oh wait. Wait Bunny-- Sky High, you were here all this time?"

Sky High perked up. Mr. Wild noticed him! "Yes! And again, yes! I was here too! I saw you kissing with Ms. Banks as well!"

That had Mr. Wild step back a bit. "Uh--"

"Kotetsu, I'm _leaving_ you behind," Barnaby was saying as the sliding doors open and closed.

Mr. Wild opened his mouth, and then closed it. Then he lifted an arm to scratch the back of his neck, and to place a hand on his hat. And _then finally_ , he smiled at Sky High. "Er, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Mr. Wild--" And just like that, Wild Tiger left him alone in the training room. Keith’s head dropped and he sighed. He really was being disregarded...

  


\---

  
 **  
_Two months later:_   
**

  
"And our guests for today is none other than B.T.B: Barnaby, Wild Tiger, and Blue Rose! Please give them a round of applause!"

"Thank you for having us here," Blue Rose was seated right next to the talk show host's desk, so she went first. In the sofa chair next to her was Wild Tiger, and in the sofa chair next to Wild Tiger's was Barnaby. In short, Wild Tiger was caught in the middle, just like the acronym B.T.B.

"So, I'm sure you want to talk about your second single, but before that, I'm sure _everyone_ in the audience would simply love to hear about the interesting development between your group. Something about you guys being the first threesome Heroes in Hero TV history?"

Wild Tiger opened his mouth, but Barnaby was the one who responded first, easily cutting him off with charming smile. "It isn't anything official, if that's what you're talking about. The only threesome partnership we have at the moment is B.T.B, and that's restricted to our singing."

"Is that so? But our audiences beg to differ, right?" The audience made affirmative sounds. "For example, Lucia from Silver Stage sent this question to us over email after we announced this interview: 'In the bank heist episode and the exotic cruise liner episodes, Barnaby and Blue Rose seemed to be in perfect sync! Coordinating together to save Wild Tiger! I mean, Barnaby and Wild Tiger have _wonderful_ teamwork'-- I gotta agree with that, even with his weakened powers, you guys still have wonderful teamwork--"

"Uh huh, thanks," Wild Tiger managed to say.

"Tiger is the perfect partner for me."

"--Anyway, continuing on. '--but lately Barnaby and Blue Rose have wonderful teamwork too! Are you _sure_ a threesome partnership isn't in plans? My friends and I agree it'll be amazing!' So. Is there really _no_ way?"

"It's not up to us, I'm afraid. It's all up to our sponsors."

"I like to work alone myself," Blue Rose cut in.

The TV host laughed, "Ah, right, the Ice _Queen_!"

"But you wouldn't mind helping me out when it comes to Wild Tiger, don't you?"

Blue Rose looked surprised for a moment. She looked at Tiger, and then smiled. "Just in case I have to call in a favour. And besides, _your partner_ does have a tendency to get himself in trouble."

"He does." Barnaby nodded. "In any case, I'm glad to have your support on this, Blue Rose. Together we'll have to keep Wild Tiger from trouble."

"Hey, hey!"

"He can't even keep a beat properly..."

"I've been trying to drill him, but I apologize for not making him work harder."

"As long as you're working _hard_."

"Hey! I can so keep a beat!" Wild Tiger exclaimed, and the TV Host laughed.

"Looks like you're _whipped_ Tiger... Moving on--"

  
\---

 


End file.
